With a new wave of COVID-19 infections fueled by the Delta variant striking countries worldwide, disease experts are scrambling to learn whether the latest version of coronavirus is making people – mainly the unvaccinated – sicker than before.
According to an internal assessment made public on Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that Delta, which was initially found in India and is now prevalent worldwide, is “likely more severe” than earlier versions of the virus.
People infected with the Delta variant were more likely to be hospitalised than patients earlier in the pandemic, according to data from Canada, Singapore, and Scotland.
In interviews with Reuters, disease experts said the three papers suggest a greater risk from the variant, but the study populations are limited and the findings have not yet been reviewed by outside experts. Doctors treating patients infected with Delta described a more rapid onset of COVID-19 symptoms, and in many regions an overall increase serious cases.
However, experts say that further research is needed to evaluate outcomes in epidemiologic studies involving larger numbers of people to determine whether one variation causes more severe disease than another.
“It’s difficult to pin down the increase in severity and population bias,” Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick Medical School in the United Kingdom, said.
Furthermore, the doctors believe that the high rate of Delta transmission is contributing to an increase in the number of severe cases coming at hospitals.
According to the CDC, Delta is as contagious as chickenpox and significantly more contagious than the typical cold or flu.
